It has now been a week since I have seen a white face, and as that was in Xi'an, a touristy place, it is safe to say it has been much longer than a week for most of the people here in Yinchuan. The ubiquitous English "Hellos" of Beijing are now so rare as to surprise again.
It has been a week since I have seen a white face, and it is not for lack of looking. I want to notice in time to cross the street so it is not apparent I am avoiding the hairy devils. It is as if I fear my Chinesification will be reversed by any contact with Westerners. My arrogance wants this part of China for my very own, exclusively, just as in another time and place I might have thought, "I want the Colorado Plateau to be mine and mine alone. You can have the rest of the continent to befoul with your Presence."
